CHENNAI: The Indian football fraternity’s response to Stephen Constantine’s second stint as national team manager has been weird, to say the least. When he was losing match after match, albeit to stronger teams like Iran and Oman, everyone was of the opinion that he should receive all the time he can be afforded, that short-term results were not everything.
Then Constantine began to turn things around, starting with the SAFF Cup victory last December. Then India beat Guam, trounced Laos over two legs in the Asian Cup qualifiers and outclassed a much-higher ranked Puerto Rico to reach their best ever FIFA rankings in six years.
That was when the Constantine-out rumours started. Fans and pundits opined why Ashley Westwood, apparently waiting in the wings, would be better for Indian football than the Englishman based in Cyprus. His future as boss was under a cloud.
But now all that has been put to rest, with the All India Football Federation opting to offer the 54-year-old a one-year extension to his contract. “We have decided to offer Constantine a one-year extension,” Bhaichung Bhutia, chairman of AIFF’s technical committee, told Express.
“There are only a few months left for India’s Asian Cup qualification games, so we decided to stick with Constantine.”
India’s quest to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup will resume in March, with the Men in Blue being one of 24 teams battling for the remaining 12 spots. This will be one of India’s best chances to qualify for the tournament, with the field expanded to 24 teams from 16 for the first time.
The current deal, if Constantine inks it, will see him being in charge till February 2018. But there will be a couple of caveats to it. Constantine will be subject to a review after six months, with the team’s performances in Asian Cup qualifiers likely to be taken into account. He will also have to work with a new assistant coach, after the AIFF decided not to renew incumbent and U-19 coach Lee Johnson’s contract.
“We have no U-19 matches coming up, so we decided not to renew Johnson’s contract. We’ll ask Constantine to work with an Indian coach. That’ll be a great learning experience for the coach selected,” Bhutia said.
While the former India captain declined to name a candidate, it appears former national team midfielder Shanmugam Venkatesh is the top choice.
